study on open wells in yamalur watershed, bengaluru a historical perspective

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STUDY ON OPEN WELLS OF YAMALUR WATERSHED, BENGALURU- A HISTORICAL

PERSPECTIVE

Minor Project Thesis

Submitted by

SUSHANT D. POTDAR

For the partial fulfillment of the

Degree of Master of Science in ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Submitted to Department of Natural Resource

TERI University

August 2015

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DECLARATION

This is to certify that the work that forms the basis of this project “Study on open

wells of Yamalur watershed, Bengaluru–A historical perspective” is an original

work carried out by me and has not been submitted anywhere else for the award

of any degree. I certify that all sources of information and data are fully

acknowledged in the project report.

Sushant D. Potdar New Delhi

28-07-2015

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CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that SUSHANT D. POTDAR has carried out his minor

project in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master in

Science in Environmental Studies and Resource Management on the

topic “Study on open wells of Yamalur watershed, Bengaluru–A historical

perspective” during May 2015 to July 2015. The project was carried out at Biome

Environmental Trust, Bengaluru, India.

The report embodies the original work of the candidate to the best of our

knowledge.

Date: 24–07–2015

Shubha Ramachandran

(Supervisor)

Water Sustainability Consultant

Biome Environmental Trust

Bengaluru, India

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would first and foremost like to thank Mr. S. Vishwanath, Founder trustee of

Biome Environmental Trust in giving me the opportunity to intern at the

organization. I am also grateful to him for giving me in depth knowledge and

ideas in the field of my study.

I would like to thank my supervisor, Shubha Ramachandran, Water

sustainability consultant at Biome Environmental Trust, in constantly

supporting and encouraging me to do well with the project. Without her

supervision and valuable inputs, this project would not have completed.

I express my sincere gratitude to Aditi Hastak and Avinash Krishnamurthy of

Biome Environmental Trust in providing valuable information during the study.

I also express my profound gratitude to all the people residing in Yamalur

watershed who helped me in finding the open wells and providing me with

information which has formed the base of this project report.

I would also like to thank Dr. Rajiv Seth (Registrar of TERI University) for his

constant support.

I am sincerely thankful to Madhur Chanana, Saarthak Bhola and Roopam

Shukla in helping me create the maps using the GIS software at Geoinformatics

laboratory of TERI University.

I am indebted to my family and friends for their continuous support and

guidance.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION .................................................................................................... 2

CERTIFICATE ....................................................................................................... 3

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... 4

LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................ 6

ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. 7

Introduction: ......................................................................................................... 8

1. Groundwater in India: .................................................................................. 8

2. Groundwater in Bengaluru: ......................................................................... 9

Aim and objectives: .............................................................................................. 11

Study area: ........................................................................................................... 11

Methodology: ....................................................................................................... 13

3.1 Obtaining the topographic sheets from Survey of India (SoI): ................ 13

3.2 Identifying open wells in Yamalur watershed:......................................... 13

3.3 Interview with open well owners and open well diggers: ........................ 14

Results: ................................................................................................................. 15

4.1 Comparing the recent map of Yamalur watershed with a 33 year old

map: ................................................................................................................. 15

4.2. Open wells of Yamalur watershed: .......................................................... 17

4.3. Interview with open well owners and open well digger: ....................... 26

Discussion and Conclusions:............................................................................... 29

5.1 Importance of open wells in Bengaluru city: ........................................... 29

5.2 The lives around open wells: .................................................................... 29

5.3 Reasons for closing down of open wells: .................................................. 30

5.4 Open wells as Common Property Resource (CPR): ................................. 30

References: .......................................................................................................... 33

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Location of the Yamalur watershed

Figure 2: Map of Yamalur watershed in 1978


Figure 4: Picture of open well 7 with its platform stone

Figure 5: Picture showing the open well and the waterway

Figure 6: The old open well of Hadosiddapura tank

Figure 7: Open well with water of Rayasandra tank

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ABSTRACT

The groundwater is an important source of water for both potable and non-potable

purposes. India is a country where groundwater is used tremendously and about 80%

of the population in India depends on groundwater. Bengaluru city, the capital of

Karnataka state, is no exception. The groundwater has been in use from the Cholas and

the Hoysala period with the means of open wells. Since then, shallow aquifers and

surface waters were used for drinking, irrigation and household purposes. Today, the

use of groundwater has now shifted from agriculture based to industry and household

base. This is also the case with the Yamalur watershed located on Sarjapura road. The

area of 33.8 sq km was once an agricultural land but now has become more residential

due to the emergence of IT sector nearby. The watershed gets water from only one

source i.e groundwater due to which tremendous discharge is depleting both the

shallow and deep aquifers. Since the upcoming of bore wells which extract water from

deep aquifers, somehow the shallow aquifers, its open wells and tanks of the watershed

are neglected. It is important to understand the working of the aquifers to manage

them sustainably. In the Participatory Aquifer Mapping (PAQM) project undertaken

by Biome Environmental Trust, the history of the aquifers of Yamalur watershed is

essential in understanding its working and comparing it with the current information.

Thus it was essential in identifying the open wells of the watershed and understand the

historical significance of these wells required to manage the shallow aquifers. The

information was collected from the people and it will be used in the PAQM project to

make them aware of the threats and signify the importance of sustainable use of

ground water.

Key words: shallow aquifer, deep aquifer, open wells, PAQM, Yamalur watershed

8 Introduction:

Water is a vital molecule which is required for the existence of life on Earth. It is

proved that one of the basic requirements for life to exist on other planets is the

availability of water. It is because of this that people give so much reverence to

water, especially in areas where it is scarce. Humans, like other animals used

this water for potable purposes initially. It was when his intellectual capacity

expanded and various ideas started to flow, he made better use of resources,

including water, for his own benefit. Today, water, other than for drinking, is

used in many industrial processes and in production of many goods and

services. It is in this era that it is critical for us to think about water as “the liquid

with life” than just a common resource.

1. Groundwater in India:

The strong historical evidence of usage of groundwater in Indian subcontinent

dates back to the Harappan civilization way back in 2000 BC in the Indus valley.

It was a distinguishing feature for the Harappans to build wells and use it for the

purpose of irrigation and drinking. About 700 wells have been identified in the

archaeological excavations of Mohenjodaro. It is believed that the mouth of the

wells was kept small with an intention for the water to flow out of the well in an

artesian manner (Agarwal et al, 1997).

The different types of open wells and step wells of the country have been

beautifully explained in CSE’s Dying Wisdom. The stepwells of Rajasthan are

known as jhalaras which collect the water from the upstream lake or tank

through the underground seepage. The other type of structure from the Thar

Desert of Rajasthan is the famous kund in which people of the village regularly

maintained and took care of the catchment area. The individual kunds were

maintained by the owners and water from the monsoon fill into these structures

through three openings made at the surface of the land. Some structures in

Bikaner also maintained 12 m deep wells adjacent to the tanks. They are called

kuis and are recharged by seepage from the tanks. The dug wells of Gujarat are

called virads which collect rainwater. They are dug in low depressions and the

water collected can be used for about 4 months (Agarwal et al, 1997).

The Southern India had completely different ideas of water management in the

history. The wells of Bijapur in North Karnataka are known as bavadi which are

huge structures. Some of them are even tourist attractions at Bijapur. These

9 wells have been built by the Bijapur rulers to fulfil the water needs of the city

(Iyengar, 2007). The wells are intricately dependant on the tanks for their water.

The tanks of southern Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were once connected

(Cunha et al 2006). Adjoining the tanks were bavis (wells) and kalyanis (step

reservoirs) present which got recharged by underground seepage from the tanks

(Vishwanath, 2012 and Unnikrishnan et al, 2015). The tanks got dried up during

summers but the wells next to them yielded and the driest period of the year was

managed with enough water in the wells. The tanks later filled up during the

monsoon thus continuing the cycle of water management with tanks and wells.

The statistics of groundwater usage with the help of bore wells and open wells in

the current circumstances is enormous. Almost 85 % of rural population and

more than 50 % of urban population depend on groundwater for their potable

purposes. The quality of the groundwater has also depleted according to the

CGWB report in 2009 which states that more than 60% of the districts in India

are facing either contamination or depletion. This might be due to increased

consumption of water in the urban as well as rural settings (Kulkarni et al,

2015).

2. Groundwater in Bengaluru:

The construction of tanks in Bengaluru district can be dated way back in 1110

AD by the Cholas and the Hoysalas. The series of tanks was later built by the

founder of Bengaluru, Kempe gowda from 1537 AD (Annaswamy, 2003). The

wells would have then come up gradually adjoining the tanks built during that

time. The oldest well that can be spotted in the city is located in the Begur fort

(Unnikrishnan et al, 2015). The famous well in Lalbagh Botanical Gardens,

probably built by Tipu Sultan at the end of the 18th century stands majestically

but filled with solid waste today (Unnikrishnan et al, 2015). The history of water

management has then been on a rough road as the tanks dried out. This city in

1949 merged its two municipalities namely the Bangalore city and the Bangalore

civil and military municipalities to become one (Sudhira et al, 2007). This

expanded the city which put a lot of stress on the waterbodies present in

Bengaluru at that time. The Cauvery Water Supply Scheme (CWSS) was initiated

by Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) in 1969 to bring

Cauvery river water to fulfil the needs of the city. In 2010, the 4th stage of CWSS

was in operation supplying 810 Million Litres per Day (MLD) of water to the city

(Banerjee et al, 2012). Today, the 5th stage of this scheme is in operation. The

groundwater use in the city has been on the rise and according to the data,

10 Bengaluru district has about 7741 open wells and 3921 bore wells as on 1987

(Kamath, 1990). The recent data shows that the number of bore wells have

increased to 7000 supplying 70 MLD of water to the city. These bore wells have

been maintained in the BWSSB records. The estimates of private bore wells in

the district are close to 80,000 with an annual drilling of 6,480 bore wells

(Banerjee et al, 2012).

With the statistics completely against the sustainable management of

groundwater, it is a hot topic to restore and check on the usage and discharge of

groundwater to support the future of the city. The recharge of groundwater

through rainwater harvesting and with the means of restoration of tanks in the

city, a possible sustainable outcome can be met which will probably be

beneficiary in the future.

The forgotten knowledge about shallow aquifers and importance of traditional

knowledge in managing water, especially groundwater, by collecting information

from the locals and making them aware of the threats by using the same

information, as being carried out in PAQM project, creates the base for this

project.

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Aim and objectives:

To know the historical perspective and importance of open wells for

groundwater recharge and management in Yamalur watershed of Bengaluru

city.

The study had three main objectives.

1. To map the current status of the open wells with the help of a topographic

sheet and compare it with a 33 year old topographic sheet. The entire watershed

area is mapped to understand the change in land use and its impact on the

existence of the open wells.

2. To identify the open wells in Yamalur watershed and study their current

status, historical, traditional and cultural importance as a Common Property

Resource (CPR).

3. To understand the significance of the existing open wells in a city like

Bengaluru from an open well owner and an open well digger’s perspective.

Study area:

The study site selected to achieve the aim and the objectives listed is Yamalur

watershed of Bengaluru city. The Biome Environmental Trust has been carrying

out PAQM project of this watershed for over a year. The watershed lies in

Koramangala and Chellaghatta valley which is one of the three valleys in which

Bengaluru city lies. The watershed contains about 12 tanks which still exist. The

tanks are interconnected and drain out into the largest tank of Bengaluru, the

Bellandur tank. The area of the watershed is about 33.8 sq km through which

the two main roads of the city, the outer ring road and Sarjapura main road

pass. The Sarjapura main road passes right from the middle of the watershed

and is subject to commercial activities today. The main reason on choosing this

site for PAQM project is that the area is completely dependent on groundwater.

The BWSSB does not supply piped water to this area which forces the people to

depend on groundwater entirely. The supply is through private bore wells in

high rise complexes or private tanker operators are seen extracting water from

bore wells for supplying it to other apartment and residential communities. The

12 discharge of groundwater is enormous as the area is now densely populated due

to a boom in IT sector and other industrial expansions in and around the

watershed area. The tanks in the watershed are subjected to various issues like

pollution, eutrophication and encroachments. The future of this area is under

serious threat as groundwater is extracted at a tremendous rate. This forms the

basis of the PAQM project to understand the functioning of the aquifer by

collecting information from people and further making them aware of the

threats by using the same information provided by them.

Figure 1: Location of the Yamalur watershed

13 Methodology:

3.1 Obtaining the topographic sheets from Survey of India (SoI):

The topographic sheets had to be purchased from the SoI office located in

Koramangala to map the open wells and land use pattern of the watershed area.

Two maps were purchased, one printed in 1978 and the other recently printed in

2011. The maps have 33 years difference in them which is sufficient to study the

rapid land use change and its impact on open wells in the study area. The

Yamalur watershed lies in the south western part of Bengaluru city in the

topographic sheet with index number 57 H/9. The topographic sheets were

obtained on 2nd June, 2015 in the form of hard copy. The SoI keeps a record of

all the old maps scanned in their systems. It would cost more in getting them

printed than the recently available maps that they have at the store. At any cost,

the scanned copies of the maps are not provided to the customers.

The depiction of the open wells and the land use pattern on the topographic

sheet requires scanning. The scanning of the topographic sheets was done at a

separate enterprise at a cost of Rs. 300 per topographic sheet.

The scanned topographic sheets were later georeferenced with the help of QGIS

1.8.0 software. The digitization of the topographic sheets was carried out using

ArcGIS 10.0 software.

3.2 Identifying open wells in Yamalur watershed:

It was essential to identify the open wells present in the watershed to

understand their current status, historical, cultural and traditional importance.

From the literature, it is evident that there is a relation between the tanks and

open wells. Keeping this in mind, a search for open wells around the tanks

present in the watershed was carried out for a period of two weeks and covering

10 tanks out of 13 in the watershed. A total of 21 open wells were identified in

the watershed mostly around the tanks. A thorough search might lead to many

more open wells in the study area. The means of discovering the open wells were

different and this has been explained in the following chapter. The wells were

later identified on google maps to get their GPS locations.

14 3.3 Interview with open well owners and open well diggers:

Another objective of this study was to obtain people’s perspective about open

wells. The information gathered from open well owners would be vital in

understanding the problems faced by them in maintaining such massive

structures as well as incorporate their assessment about groundwater recharge

and management. The attempt was to identify the owners of all the 21 wells but

some wells were common and didn’t have any owners. There were some wells

for which the owners were not found. Overall, 7 open well owners were

interviewed and information was collected accordingly. An interview of an open

well digger was also considered to understand the change in technique and

behaviour of open well construction.

15 Results:

4.1 Comparing the recent map of Yamalur watershed with a 33 year old map:

The recent history of the watershed is critical in analysing the differences in the

land use pattern and its extent in changing the socio economic trend. The

Yamalur watershed which was on the outskirts of Bengaluru city in 1978 is now

very much the part of it. The IT boom and other industrial development have led

to a huge population moving into this area changing the land use pattern

gradually. The comparison of the topographic maps brings out these changes

visually and the effect of the land use changes can be interpreted with the

groundwater usage. It is necessary to note that some open wells and tube wells

have been omitted in the topographic sheets as they are present numerously.

4.1.1 Yamalur watershed in 1978:


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The watershed in 1978 shows the presence of huge areas of agricultural land.

The crops grown were usually rice and ragi. Many plantations like mango,

coconut and papaya were also carried out during this period. The watershed was

situated away from the city in 1978 and many villages were located in it. Only

fragments of habitation were present, mostly rural. The tanks were used for

water harvesting during rains. A huge number of open wells and tube wells were

present both close to the tanks as well as away from them. The major roads

present were Sarjapura road cutting right across the watershed. Connected to

these roads were Haralur road and Hosa road. More than 60 open wells and

about 50 tube wells were identified on the topographic map of 1978 within the

watershed indicating a high usage of shallow aquifers. The wells were mostly

irrigation wells with some exceptions. Tube wells were usually used for house

hold purposes.

4.1.2 Yamalur watershed in 2011:


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The 33 years brought a major difference to Bengaluru city. The city’s limits were

expanded on all the four directions. The major expansion of the city according to

me was in the south west Bengaluru due to the upcoming of many IT hubs.

Wipro has one of its offices located inside the study area. This provided

tremendous job opportunities for software engineers and with that came along

other fields and professions. The Electronic city is not far from the study area.

Agriculture as a profession was hit tremendously with this rate of growth of the

city. Many agricultural lands were converted into residential layouts and offices.

This can be clearly seen in the map. The loss of agriculture meant that the tanks

and open wells were ignored completely which later got dried up. The major

road, the outer ring road, passing through the watershed increased the ease for

people to come to their workplace in and around the watershed. This has

effectively taken a toll on the open wells and tube wells. Many of them have

stopped yielding and this puts an added pressure on their existence. With the

ease in digging up a bore well and using the deep aquifers, open wells and

shallow aquifers, including the tanks, were neglected. The barren land shown in

the map also includes land supposedly used for construction of residential

complexes.

4.2. Open wells of Yamalur watershed:

A total of 21 open wells were identified in the Yamalur watershed in a period of 2

weeks and relevant observations were made during the visit. The details of each

and every well were collected which helps us understand and achieve the

objective of knowing their historical, cultural and traditional heritage as a CPR.

4.2.1 Open well 1:

This open well is located near Parappana Agrahara tank (12°52'38.3"N

77°39'31.0"E). The open well and its location were already known to Biome

Environmental Trust. The open well was filled with sewage water and had reeds

growing around it. The pump house next to the well was damaged and looked

old. Since the well was filled with sewage water, the depth of the well is

unknown. A lot of suicide cases have been reported from the well, a recent one

reported on 13th June, 2015. The locals were unsure about the age of the well too.

A large Peepal tree (Ficus religiosa) was present next to the well but it was

chopped down due to innumerable suicide cases. It won’t be long before the

18 society decides to close down the well too for the above reason. The well is public

and the water was used to irrigate Ragi (Finger millet) fields in the past.

4.2.2 Open well 2:

This open well is also located near Parappana Agrahara tank (12°52'26.3"N

77°39'32.1"E). This open well was discovered by asking the locals at open well 1.

This well is a circular recharge well lined by concrete rings. The well yields water

which is used for washing clothes and utensils. The quality of the water looks

visually good as it is clear water. This well is in front of a house where an old

lady rented it from the owner. According to her, the well goes dry in the peak

summers and gets recharged during monsoon. The well is about 2 feet in

diameter. A tulsi plant (Ocimum sanctum) was planted in front of the well to

keep the area around the well clean. The water is drawn from the well using a

bucket tied with a rope. The well is meshed to avoid any kind of accidents.

4.2.3 Open well 3:

Another open well located near Parappana Agrahara tank (12°52'26.7"N

77°39'32.5"E) right in front of open well 2. This is also a recharge well lined by

concrete rings. This open well also had water in it at the time of visit and

probably behaves the same way as open well 2. The owner of the open well was

not identified as it was located in an empty site. A Custard apple tree (Annona

sp.) was seen growing next to the open well. The water of the well was used to

wash clothes and the clothes were hanged right next to the open well for drying.

This well is also covered by a mesh and a bucket is used to draw the water for

usage.

4.2.4 Open well 4:

A huge open well is located just next to open well 2 near Parappana Agrahara

tank (12°52'26.0"N 77°39'33.1"E). This open well was discovered by interacting

with the locals. The well is protected by a brick lined boundary and it is lined by

stones on the inside. The diameter of the well is about 20 feet and the depth of

the open well is about 40 feet. The well had miniscule amount of water during

the visit. A pipe was found inside the well attached to a motor to draw water and

store it in an underground sump next to the well. There was a separate pump

house for the pump next to the well. Steps are constructed on the walls of the

well to reach to the bottom. There are about 40 steps for the well. There is a door

which opens to these steps. The exact age of the well is not known but according

to the locals, it is about 50 years old. The area around the well is clean with 3

19 coconuts (Cocas nucifera), a custard apple (Annona sp.), a guava (Psidium sp.)

and a Singapore cherry (Muntingia sp.) trees. A Banyan tree (Ficus

benghalensis) is growing inside the well taking its roots into the crevices of the

stone lining of the well. The well has a protective mesh to avoid any accidents.

4.2.5 Open well 5:

This well is much closer to any of the wells of Parappana Agrahara tank

(12°52'43.0"N 77°39'33.0"E). The well had already been identified by Biome

Environmental Trust. It is a well which is approximately 20 feet in diameter and

20 feet in depth. The well has water but it is mainly rainwater which is

accumulated. A lot of solid waste has been dumped inside the well which is

floating on the water indicating that the well has not been use from quite a long

time. It has about 30 steps which lead to the floor of the well. A bore well has

been dug inside the well which yields water. According to the locals, this well

was also used to grow ragi (Finger millets) when the well was yielding. A drastic

change in land use has almost phased out this well today as it was only used for

irrigation. A good find was a tulsi plant planted next to the well with a tap

opening right next to the plant coming from the well. It is important to note the

trees growing inside and around the wells as it may have an effect on the

structure and strength of the wells. An unidentified plant was growing inside the

well taking its roots firmly inside the stone crevices of the wall of the well.

4.2.6 Open well 6:

The well is next to open well 5 close to Parappana Agrahara tank

(12°52'42.5"N 77°39'32.3"E). This well had already been identified by Biome

Environmental Trust. It is a dry well with a stone wall around it for safety

purpose. The well has 22 steps leading up to the bottom. The well is lined with

stones and it was observed that some part of the inner wall was wet indicating

the possibility of a crack present. It is about 20 feet in diameter and 25 feet deep,

constructed in the year 1959. A bore well is dug inside this well which yields

water. A separate pump house for the bore well is constructed right next to the

well. A Peepal tree (Ficus religiosa) was seen growing on the inner walls of the

well.

4.2.7 Open well 7:

This well is near Chikka Kudlu tank located behind BDA playground on Haralur

road (12°53'26.8"N 77°39'25.1"E). The well was discovered by chance due to the

presence of a dense canopy of trees and the presence of a cemetery. The well

20 looks to be quite old as there is mud accumulated in the well. Only a small

portion of the well is visible. A stone platform stands firm which was used to

collect water in the past. The cemetery seems to be recent as indicated by the

dates on some of the graves. A huge tamarind tree (Tamarindus indicus) stands

right next to the well.

Figure 4: Picture of open well 7 with its platform stone

4.2.8 Open well 8:

This well is also near Chikka Kudlu tank but much further away from open well 7

(12°53'23.0"N 77°39'34.1"E). The well is situated amidst a farm land which was

tilled with a bull dozer. The well is old and dry, but the bottom of the well is not

visible due to many Singapore cherry (Muntingia sp.) trees growing inside it.

The trees have made a strong canopy near the surface. The well is about 20 feet

in diameter and its depth is unknown. This well too has the stone platform used

to draw water when in need. There are two coconut (Cocas nucifera) trees

growing next to the well. A pump house stands next to the well.

4.2.9 Open well 9:

This open well is in the same farm as that of open well 8 (12°53'25.1"N

77°39'31.5"E). The well is approximately about 28 feet in diameter and 50 feet in

depth. The well is dry but it has a bore well inside it which yields water. The well

has steps which are 30 in number. A lot of solid waste has been dumped inside

21 the well. A Singapore cherry (Muntingia sp.) is growing inside the well while a

coconut tree (Cocas nucifera) has been planted just next to the well.

4.2.10 Open well 10:

This well is the closest to the Chikka Kudlu tank, situated right next to the

Haralur road in front of a bungalow (12°53'25.1"N 77°39'22.8"E). It is a square

well indicating that the water was used for drinking purpose. The well is about

60 years old and 20 feet deep. It had a pulley system to draw water with the help

of a bucket and a rope. The well is completely dry today filled with solid waste.


This is one of the two wells identified near Choodasandra tank. The well is

located just next to the tank behind a bungalow (12°53'11.7"N 77°40'51.3"E). The

well was identified already by Biome Environmental Trust. The well has an

approximate diameter of 24 feet and a depth of 50 feet. It has about 25 steps to

reach the bottom, but few steps in the middle are missing. A bore well is dug

inside the well. During the visit, the well had some amount of water which would

have been collected due to the rains. The well is approximately 40 years old. A

big unidentified tree stands next to the well.


This well is away from the Choodasandra tank. The path next to Sarkari Kiriya

Prathamika School leads to a bungalow at the end of the path. The well is located

inside the private land (12°53'17.1"N 77°41'01.2"E). This well was identified by

chance and by asking the locals. The well can be seen from google maps too. It

has a diameter of approximately 28 feet and a depth of 50 feet. It is lined by

stones and the bottom seems marshy with grass and plants growing inside it.

The well is surrounded by Mango (Magnifera indica) plantation and the water

of the well was used to irrigate the farms earlier. The well is dry now and it has a

bore well dug inside for which a separate pump house was built next to the well.

The well is surrounded by stone compound for the safety purpose.


This is a small round well located on the other side of the bund of

Halanayakanahalli tank (12°54'05.8"N 77°41'24.4"E). The well was identified

while observing the sluice gate of the tank. This well is lined by stones from the

inside and is about 10 feet in diameter. The actual depth of the well is unknown

as it is dry and filled with mud. This well has two stone platforms that were

22 usedto draw water from the well. The well is surrounded by eucalyptus

(Eucalyptus sp.) plantations. The well might be strategically located as the

recharge of the well would have happened both by surface runoff and

underground recharge. The well is located right next to the pathway made for

the water to run off from Halanayakanahalli tank to fill the next one. This

mechanism was human controlled in the past when the sluice gate of the tank

was opened for excess water to flow out of the tank and fill the next one. During

the process, the water might have entered the well and recharged it. The

description is solely made on the observations done on the study site. A

construction activity is underway just next to the well which might jeopardise its

existence in the future.

Figure 5: Picture showing open well and the waterway


This well is about 10 metres away from open well 13; also on the other side of the

bund of Halanayakanahalli tank (12°54'06.2"N 77°41'22.8"E). This well too was

found by chance. It is right in front of the colony of houses that can be seen from

open well 13. The condition of the well is poor as the stone lined walls have

collapsed inside the well. The well is dry and the community living next to it is

using it as a dump site. A lot of chicken legs were seen inside the well. The well is

about 20 feet in diameter but its actual depth is unknown due to accumulation

23 of mud and stones. There were eucalyptus (Eucalyptus sp.) plantations in front

of the well.


This is one of the two wells identified near Hadosiddapura tank. It is located

next to a big banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis) which is next to the railway line

(12°53'17.3"N 77°42'27.1"E). This well was found with the help of the locals. The

well is also surrounded by a mango tree (Magnifera indica). The diameter of the

well is about 28 feet. There was water present but it looked to be stagnant and

black in colour. This water must have accumulated during the rains. There are

stone steps leading to the bottom but some of them have been broken. The well

is stone lined and water was seeping from the stone lined wall of the well

indicating a possibility of a crack. The entrance to the well was blocked by thick

Lantana sp. cover. There were gunny bags and solid waste floating in the water

of the well. A small stone carved idol was found next to the well.


Figure 6: The old open well of Hadosiddapura tank

This well is situated very close to open well 15 (12°53'15.0"N 77°42'27.5"E). The

well was spotted by chance and it is very difficult to locate this well due to a lot

of vegetation around it. Only a part of the well can be seen while walking on the

path next to the railway line. The well is lined by stones on the inside but the

upper part of the well near the stone platform has caved in. The diameter of the

well is about 20 feet with a depth of about 40 feet. The well is dry and also filled

with solid waste. The well had 20 steps currently but in the past might have had

24 more. A stone platform is still standing strong. A lot of trees are growing around

the well. A huge private farm is present next to the well.


This well is on the other side of the bund of Doddakannelli tank (12°54'38.5"N

77°41'37.4"E). It can be identified as a depression next to a broken brick house

when walking on the bund of the tank. The condition of the well is bad as the

stones of the wall of the well have collapsed. There is a lot of mud accumulation

due to rains. The well was spotted by chance due to a broken brick house. This

house might have been the pump house for the well. The diameter of the well is

about 12 feet but its actual depth is unknown. There is a honge tree (Pongamia

sp.) growing next to the well.


This well is also located next to Doddakannelli tank on the other side of the bund

(12°54'39.7"N 77°41'40.7"E). The well is visible from a distance at the entrance

of the tank. This well was already identified by Biome Environmental Trust.

This is a square well indicating that the water might have been used for drinking

purpose in the past. Today, the well is dry and has a lot of solid waste dumped

into it. There are two stone structures placed on the walls of the well firmly. This

might have been used to draw water through pulley system. The well is

approximately 40 feet in depth. Around the well are stone platforms with steps.


The first among the three wells identified at Rayasandra tank. It is right next to

the road on the side of the bund (12°52'25.3"N 77°40'46.7"E). This well was

identified by Biome Environmental Trust. This is a square well too indicating

that the water might have been used for drinking purpose. A bore well is dug

right next to the well which yields water and is transported to the engineering

college nearby. This is the closest well among the three to the tank. The water

present in the well during the visit might have been rain water. Otherwise the

well is heavily polluted with solid waste. The depth of the well is about 40 feet

and the inner linings of the wall are constructed using stones. The well is

surrounded by stone platforms to reach the mouth of the well. A single stone

slab is firmly constructed taking support of the walls of the well. This was used

to draw water from the well. A banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis) is growing

inside the well taking its roots in the crevices of the stone lined walls.

25 4.2.20 Open well 20:

The second well located near Rayasandra tank is a bit further from the first one.

This well can be seen from google maps amidst the farmland (12°52'25.9"N

77°40'55.1"E). This well was identified by chance due to a temple located inside

the farmland. This well had water during the visit which was about 6 feet below

the surface. It is lined by stones on the inside and has stone steps too to reach

for the water inside the well. The well is covered and protected with a steel mesh

for safety purpose. The diameter of the well is about 20 feet. A peepal tree (Ficus

religiosa) stands firm right next to the well. The well is clean and maintained as

the water is used only for the temple. The water is collected with the help of a

bucket. The wells with water also provide a habitat for fishes and amphibians. A

lot of cat fishes were observed coming near the surface of the water during the

visit. The well also hosts a lot of village discussions among communities and

there is a stone slab next to it for people to sit and discuss. A pump house is built

next to the well as and when water is required for other purpose.

Figure 7: Open well with water of Rayasandra tank


This is the third well located near Rayasandra tank. It is much further away from

the tank compared to the other two wells (12°52'30.8"N 77°40'56.3"E). This well

too is amidst the farmlands and Eucalyptus plantations. The well was identified

with the help of the locals. The well is lined by stones and has stone steps too till

the bottom of the well. This is only the second well that had water. The water

26 here too was about 6 feet below the surface of the land. Only 8 steps were visible

while the others were covered with water. According to the locals, the well is

about 20 feet deep and 25 feet in diameter. The well goes dry during summer

but gets recharged during the monsoon both from the rainwater as well as from

the tank. This well too houses fish right from the juvenile phase to the adult. The

well is protected with barbed wires for the purpose of safety. The water is used

for growing crops in the farmland. A huge coconut tree (Cocas nucifera) stands

right next to the well.

4.3. Interview with open well owners and open well digger:

4.3.1 Interview with open well owners:

The open well owners are essential people to be included in the project of PAQM

as they are sources of information which can be used to get a clear picture of the

groundwater. Other than that, it is essential to make them aware of the need to

conserve these open wells, not only for the sake of historical significance but also

as a vital structure in managing shallow aquifers of the watershed. The

interviews would also help in understanding their thoughts about the open wells

and their approach in preserving such structures.

The owner of open well 4, near Parappana Agrahara tank had no interest in

conversing about his well. The permission to see the well and make the

observations were provided, but the in depth understanding of how and when

the well gets recharged, what is their perspective on keeping the well in a good

condition and many other questions were unanswered for this particular well. It

was difficult to even get the correct age of the well in this case.

The owner of open well 5 was a farmer with fields around Parappana Agrahara

tank. He started converting his land into housing complexes and renting them

out to workers and families who work at the companies close to the site. This

transformation came about when he realised that farming would not yield any

money from his land and thus he converted it into housing. The rents of the

houses range from Rs.3000 to 5000 per month. The water supplied to the

housing complex is through bore wells and tanker water which also comes from

other bore wells. Separate water metres have been installed in each house for

transparent billing. The water metres also provide the per capita usage of water.

The well which is now surrounded by the housing complex is used as a dump

site where wastes are thrown into it. The owner is willing to restore the well

which can further be used to supply water to the tenants and reduce the cost of

27 pumping and supplying water from the bore wells. It is difficult to implement

the idea according to him as the cost of restoration would be high.

The owner of open well 6 used to use the water of the well for irrigating his

fields. It was also used for drinking purpose. The well stopped yielding water for

more than 5 years now. A mere 5 feet of water was available a couple of years

back. The bore well, according to the owner, was dug about 30 years back. This

might have been to increase the production of crops in his fields. The fact that a

stone wall has been built around the well indicates that he is interested in

preserving the well as the bore well dug inside is still yielding water.

The owner of open well 10 (square well across the Haralur road) pointed out that

the well was easily 60 years old. The well has been dry from 8 years. The water

was used for drinking and there was a definite connection between the

availability of the water in the well and in Chikka kudlu tank which was right

next to it.

The owner of open well 11 indicated that her well is about 50 years old. The well

is next to Choodasandra tank. The well had miniscule amount of water and she

specified that this was collected during the rain. The well has not been yielding

water from the past 10 years and the bore well that has been dug also does not

yield today. According to another local, the tank was flooded about 4 years ago

but it is dry today and the tank bed has a lot of weeds taking roots.

The care taker of the farmhouse in which open well 12 was identified was

interviewed. According to him, the well is about 50 years old and is dependent

on the Choodasandra tank for recharging itself. The well was used to irrigate the

mango farm. The well stopped yielding about 6 years ago and the bore well dug

inside the well is also not operational as the pump got damaged due to silt

accumulation. He also mentioned that the rains were really good during the

monsoon about four years back but he was really disappointed with the

monsoon of 2014.

The owner of open well 20, located near Rayasandra tank, renovated the well as

it was in a bad state. The well was initially built by his grandfather indicating it

to be about 100 years old. He also built a temple next to the well during the

renovation to protect it from being misused. Unfortunately, a film crew

approached the well and later left the place in a bad state again. The well was

dried up and it took another renovating strategy to restore the condition of the

well. He subsequently covered the well with steel mesh, majorly from protecting

his ancestral structure. It also provided safety for people.

28 4.3.2 Interview with open well digger:

The Biome Environmental Trust suggested me to interview an open well digger

to understand the knowledge, efforts and challenges faced during the

construction of a well. The understanding of the working of an open well was an

important learning gained from this conversation.

Well digging has been a family occupation for the interviewee where the

knowledge of well digging has been passed on from generations to him. He is

now passing on the knowledge to his son who is picking it up well and learning

the techniques and skills from his father. The interviewee has built an open well

in Kaggalipura located in Bengaluru rural district which is about 20 feet in

diameter and 30 feet deep. The open well did not yield water as the adjoining

wells were unclean. He cleaned those wells and subsequently the water started

to flow in the new well that he had constructed. The well had about 15 stone

steps and took him and his team of 9 members about 10 days to dig the well and

line it with the stones. The method in which he digs the well has not been

changed and now is the skill and knowledge of many generations. He mentions

that the slope of the place is vital for open well building such that the water

should naturally flow into the well from the higher ground. He has also taken up

the job of digging recharge wells of 20 feet depth lined by cement rings which

are available in the market. Such wells can be found in gated communities like

Sunny brooks and Rainbow drive which are located inside the Yamalur

watershed. The open wells lined with stones though have to be cleaned regularly

and maintained properly. Silt accumulated at the bottom of the well has to be

removed periodically for the well to yield water.

29 Discussion and Conclusions:

5.1 Importance of open wells in Bengaluru city:

The open wells today stand as a mere historical structures from the time of Tipu

Sultan. The open wells were used for domestic purposes as well as irrigation. It

is by managing these wells very religiously, that our ancestors made sure that

there is enough water in the future. But somehow, the practice is lost in the city

due to the ease in getting water from the piped system. This water is treated and

supplied to about half the city every alternate day. The reasons for so many open

wells to go dry are rapid urbanisation and constant demand for land in the city,

putting the tanks, which become dry during summers, at a high risk of getting

transformed into layouts. The wells adjacent to the tanks get recharged from the

tank waters. Many wells in the area are found near the tanks, as seen in Yamalur

watershed too. The wells, even if they are dry, can act as recharge points for

groundwater recharge at different places (Unnikrishnan H et al, 2015). The wells

under a particular tank are in series. If these wells are restored and the water

gets back into the wells, then the excess water gets diverted from the tanks to

other tanks which finally end up in the river. This creates the opportunity to

both preserve the wells which yield water as well as increasing the base flow of

the rivers flowing around the city.

5.2 The lives around open wells:

The open wells of the Yamalur watershed have stories that have changed the way

in which we look at lives. Water is such a crucial aspect for the living that the

need for sufficient quantity and good quality water has shaped the human

society worldwide. The stories of how a well which was healthy and yielding

water suddenly went dry due to the well owner’s extra precaution towards

maintaining his well. This well is situated in the Yamalur watershed and

according to the locals; the well was yielding lots of water. The owner supplied

the water to the communities nearby for some price. He took added measures to

maintain the quality and quantity of the water in the well. A temple was situated

next to the well where devotees offered flowers to the God. The flowers offered

to the God were later put in the well. This brought a conflict of interest between

the well owner and the temple priest resulting in the temple being shifted

elsewhere as the owner didn’t want any waste to be put inside the well. Soon

30 after that, the well went dry and stopped yielding water. Till today, the well is

dry but the structure remains intact.

On the other hand, success stories are very less. The once, age old well, built by

another open well owner’s grandfather was renovated and taken care of by this

well owner and now he is enjoying the fruitful outcomes of his efforts. He also

built a temple next to the well for preserving the place. It is evident that there

are some religious attachments to these water yielding structures and this has to

be respected for the wellbeing of the community.

5.3 Reasons for closing down of open wells:

A well is such a structure for which a lot of effort is put in, in its construction.

These wells can be maintained for centuries if needed. But once an owner feels

that the utility of the well is over, he decides to make a better use of the land.

Open wells in Bengaluru are highly vulnerable for this very purpose. Many wells,

according to the locals, have been closed down for better usage of land occupied

by the dry wells. Moreover, the wells are closed down for social reasons like

suicides and unfortunate accidents. Wells are prone for being closed down as

they attract a lot of easy options for ending one’s life. If the cases are really high,

then the decision of closing the well down is immediately taken. Another reason

for wells to be closed down is due to the tremendous use of deep aquifers in the

form of bore wells. The bore wells make life easy as there is no physical effort

needed in pumping the water till the surface. Moreover, it is believed that the

quality of water from a bore well is much better than that of an open well. The

huge boom in digging of bore wells has completely overshadowed what open

wells used to serve us. Thus they are neglected and are subject for being closed

down.

5.4 Open wells as Common Property Resource (CPR):

Many open wells in the study area were public while some were public or the

property of the community. But it was seen that the open wells were an outdated

technology as the wells were not in working conditions. Out of 21 wells reported

in the watershed, only 2 wells yielded water. The map of the watershed in 1978

shows a completely different picture than that of the watershed in 2011 with

respect to the number of open wells and tube wells. In the case of tube wells, it is

mostly the community owned. The drastic reduction in the number of the open

wells and tube wells in the span of 30 years is due to many developmental

31 reasons. But development is not the sole reasons for this situation today. Lack of

managing the groundwater as a CPR is also major reason. But this is not been

perceived as the effects of development overshadows it in some situations. The

overexploitation of groundwater is also due to over drilling of groundwater from

bore wells. Thus the transformation from open wells which was a CPR to private

bore wells has converted groundwater from a CPR, which was the case of ancient

India, to a private property. Today, the notion is that if a property is bought,

then the owner owns the groundwater within the property too. Thus he is

entitled to dig a bore well and extract as much groundwater as he wishes without

respecting the fact that groundwater cannot be privatised as there are

connections and flow of water (Narain, 1998). The problem with groundwater in

Yamalur watershed includes greater rate of development which leads to

population migration, thus putting that much stress on groundwater and a flaw

in groundwater policy by making it a part of the private property.

The open wells in the Yamalur watershed are now being perceived as those

structures which stand without any purpose thus losing the race with time. CPR

is a governance strategy itself for sustainable use of a resource, in this case,

groundwater. One has to carefully see the difference between a CPR and an open

access resource. The CPR has a set of rules and regulations which is bound to

each and every person of the community. It is his/her responsibility to maintain

and conservatively use the resource. But on the other hand, open access resource

is that where a person can use it but is not entitled by any rules or regulations to

maintain it (Narain, 1998). There are also a set of rules which have to be

followed by the community to sustain their resource. This has been extensively

elaborated and postulated by Elinor Ostrom in her 8 design principles for

managing a CPR. These rules help in explaining the strategies to help support

the resource (Cox et al, 2010). With the help of these rules, one can try to

formulate the policy which helps in managing the open wells of Yamalur

watershed and the tanks which are associated with it after restoration of the

same in the future. This will not only help the community in attaining self-

sufficiency in the department of water, but will also become an example for

situations which are similar to this in the country.

The open wells are truly crucial structures in managing the shallow aquifers.

According to S. Vishwanath, the founder trustee of Biome Environmental Trust

and water expert of Bengaluru, “open wells are the only means by which one can

visually look at groundwater”. It is from the Harappan civilization that we study

the existence of open wells and even today; these open wells serve our purpose

32 whenever it is mostly required. Even though these open wells go dry, they serve

many more functions that the common person fails to understand. The scope for

further studies could be to come up with a participatory restoration plan in

restoring the open wells already identified in this study. This actually brings the

community together in managing a CPR for their own utilization. Moreover, it

would be ideal to design a policy which treats the groundwater as a CPR than a

private property resource.

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